Overview of Google Apps Script

Google Apps Script is a rapid application development platform that makes it
fast and easy to create business applications that integrate with G Suite. You
write code in JavaScript and have access to built-in libraries for favorite G
Suite applications like Gmail, Calendar, Drive, and more. There's nothing to
install—we give you a code editor right in your browser, and your scripts
run on Google's servers.

If you're new to JavaScript, Codecademy offers
a number of JavaScript courses.
(Note that these courses were not developed by and are not associated with
Google.)

Your first script

The steps below show how to build and run a simple
standalone script that creates a
Google Doc and emails you a link.

Set it up

Visit script.google.com
to open the script editor. (You'll need to be signed in to your Google
account.) If this is the first time you've been to script.google.com,
you'll be redirected to a page that introduces Apps Script. Click
Start Scripting to proceed to the script editor.

A welcome screen will ask what kind of script you want to create. Click
Blank Project or Close.

/**
* Creates a Google Doc and sends an email to the current user with a link to the doc.
*/
function createAndSendDocument() {
// Create a new Google Doc named 'Hello, world!'
var doc = DocumentApp.create('Hello, world!');
// Access the body of the document, then add a paragraph.
doc.getBody().appendParagraph('This document was created by Google Apps Script.');
// Get the URL of the document.
var url = doc.getUrl();
// Get the email address of the active user - that's you.
var email = Session.getActiveUser().getEmail();
// Get the name of the document to use as an email subject line.
var subject = doc.getName();
// Append a new string to the "url" variable to use as an email body.
var body = 'Link to your doc: ' + url;
// Send yourself an email with a link to the document.
GmailApp.sendEmail(email, subject, body);
}

Select the menu item File > Save. Name your new script and click OK.

Try it out

To execute the script, either click ▶ or select the menu item
Run > createAndSendDocument.

A dialog box will appear and tell you that the script requires authorization.
Click Continue. A second dialog box will then request authorization for
specific Google services. Read the notice carefully, then click Allow.

A yellow bar at the top of the script editor will indicate when the script is
running. When the yellow bar disappears, the script has finished.

Check your Gmail inbox
for the new email, then click the link to open the Google Doc you created.

Open your Google
Drive. You'll see that both the script and the document are stored there.

Learn more

To continue learning about Apps Script, take a look at the following resources: